Tag Archives | Interior Design Tips

My Favorite Resources for Chic Baby Nursery Décor

Designing a nursery room for baby is such a pleasure because of the joy in preparing to bring home a new member of the family. A well designed nursery room needs to be high-functioning, but in doing so it doesn’t have to sacrifice on  style. And there isn’t a better time to design for baby. Today there are so many wonderful baby décor companies producing a vast range of style-savvy, multi-functional and eco-friendly products.  In addition, many of these furnishings and accessories can be easily purchased online. Here are some of my favorite nursery room décor resources:

serena & lily crib pecock nursery
For Crib Bedding

My favorite resource for classic nursery bedding is Serena & Lily. Their crisp, fresh prints are fun, yet sophisticated and several are organic. Serena & Lily sell fabric by the yard which is nice if you’d like to have some custom upholstery or window treatments. They also offer low VOC paint and accessories that coordinate beautifully with their bedding collections.
block print crib bedding nursery rikshaw
One design trend making its way into the nursery is Eastern-inspired block prints. The Rikshaw Design offers a romantic and whimsical collection of crib sets, pillows and accessories, all hand block-printed on soft Indian cotton voile. The line is easy to mix-and-match with coordinating prints, florals, stripes and motifs.
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For Nursery Furnishings

When selecting a crib, expecting parents have a lot of terrific styles and options today. Classic cribs are always in style, but many are now designed to grow with your child and transition from crib, to toddler bed, to full-sized headboard. I encourage clients to think ahead and purchase items that will represent a smart, solid investments – that will last beyond baby’s first years and become a permanent part of the home. When shopping for nursery room furnishings, I search Pottery Barn Kids, Rosenberry Rooms, and All Modern Baby. PetitNest is also a new baby & children’s décor company worth checking out.
nursery glider baby stylish
A good nursing chair is also an important piece and investment in a newborn nursery. I advise my clients to think long-term with this purchase. Will it look okay in a big boy or big girl room? Can we move it to a family or another sitting room? Serena & Lily and Restoration Hardware Baby & Child {above} carry gliders with great lines and customizable fabric options.

nursery lighting lamps children posh tots
For Lighting

Lighting is an important part of the overall design of a nursery. It can set the overall mood and provide needed task lighting. My favorite resource for lighting a nursery is Posh Tots. They have a wide variety and styles to choose from. Recently, I also found some great and economical lighting options at Target.

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For Storage

Compartmentalized storage pieces are essential to keeping a nursery organized and efficient. The MacBeth Collection {above left} offers tons of stylish storage tins that are easily tailored to the room’s color palette and best of all can be personalized with your child’s name, monogram or name of item it may be storing. Pottery Barn Kids {above right}, Ikea and Target also have fun storage options for nursery rooms. 

nursery children rugs stylish
For Rugs

An area rug might be necessary if the nursery room has wooden or tile flooring. I always visit Overstock.com first to see if they have any rugs on clearance that might work in the design. Another great resource is Rosenberry Rooms {sampling above}. 
nursery artwork children polka dot peacock

For Wall Art

There are so many great options for decorating the walls of a nursery. One trend is the use of wall decals. They are wonderful to use in nursery rooms because the can be easily removed or changed out as your child outgrows the space. I am also a huge fan of original artwork. Etsy has loads of talented artists that will personalize pieces for your little ones. Another favorite spot for art is Polka Dot Peacock where I found the artwork above.

What are you favorite resources for nursery room décor?

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Read full story By on November 15, 2010 in baby and children, baby nursery room, Design Tips, furniture, interior design, Tips/Tricks

Interior Design Tips by BluLabel Bungalow: Small Spaces and The Luxury of Less

Today I am thrilled to have Erika Ward of Atlanta-based, Erika Ward Interiors as a guest blogger.  Erika is passionate about interior design and it shows on her lovely blog, BluLabel Bungalow. I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting Erika while in New York to watch The Nate Show. She is delightful! I also think you will love this post… tip #2 is my favorite 🙂
In the House Beautiful July/August 2010 issue, they pose the question, “Is Small the New Big?” Initially, I was irritated by the question simply because it sounded like yet another trend. In 7-10 years will we once again be in love with sprawling estates?
Naturally, small is the new big when so many are downsizing due to current economic conditions. While everyone is not in financial straits some have chosen to reduce their living space in order to be more ecologically responsible. The article examines three homes, the largest a mere 650 square feet, and concludes that living large is all about quality and not quantity.
When visiting potential clients, I find they have enough furniture and accessories to furnish two homes. In fact, most of us have more than we really need. My first inclination is to grab a box and begin removing excess from the walls and mantels, but I know better than that. We are sensitive about our stuff, aren’t we? Instead I offer the following suggestions, applicable to both large and small homes, when practicing “The Luxury of Less” principle:
 
via oly studio
Edit Your Space
Perform a “healthy purge” and keep only what you love. If you can’t bear to part with your knick-knacks, consider a wall display or arranging them together in a curio cabinet. This works best when you have a collection of one or two items.
Seek Help With Organization
Living with what you need requires you to know what you need. Perform an assessment of each space noting the function of each room. If an item in the room does not serve a relevant need, then remove it. Be sure that each remaining item “has a home” or an assigned place when not in use.
Choose Dual Purpose Furniture
Shop smarter. Choose furnishing that serve two purposes, i.e. a ottoman that serves as additional seating as well as a coffee table.
Seek Help With Space Planning
The wrong furniture arrangement can kill a space.  Employ designer tricks to find optimal seating arrangements and traffic flow in the room.  The House Beautiful article lends two pieces of advice:
  1. Keep the seating arrangments pulled away from the walls. Creating spaces beyond the furniture adds volume to the room.
  2. Use furniture with exposed legs. This creates air space and a feeling of openness you cannot achieve with upholstery that goes to the floor.
Buy the Highest Quality You Can Afford, Fake the Rest
Your budget is small, but you splurge on your dream wallpaper. You don’t have money left for a custom bed so make one. There are countless tutorials on the web that guide you through the steps of making an upholstered headboard. Give your headboard an expensive look with tufting and/or framing.
 
via BeeLine Home 

Inject Interest with Color and Patterns
Using colors and patterns provides eye candy and really draws you into a space. Painted floors, playful wallpapers, artwork, and soft fabrics help to bring the room to life and establish the personality of its owner.

Do you find satisfaction in living with less? 
How have your made your life simpler this year?
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Read full story By on October 20, 2010 in color, decorating small spaces, Design Tips, home organization, interior design

Tips for Styling a Bookcase Like an Interior Designer

The bookcase. It’s functional by maximizing space and aesthetically pleasing by adding height to balance out a room. The bookcase is also not just for books. It is a wonderful place to add treasures that personalize your space. Here are some tips on how to style a bookcase.
A Clean Start
Remove all items from your shelves. Store or donate unsightly paperback books.

The study above,designed by Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd., is a beautiful example of how a bookcases help maximize a space, while adding height for overall balance.
Add a Splash of Color
For visual interest, back your shelves with a contrasting wallpaper print or colorful paint. This gorgeous bookcase by Samantha Pynn
{decorator, stylist and host and principal designer of Pure Design on HGTV} is backed with Schumacher’s Imperial Trellis by Kelly Wearstler  in Charcoal.

Some Up and Some Down

Books can be wonderful home accessories, so showcase the most beautiful ones in your collection. Arrange the books by size, subject and color. Create a rhythmic pattern by placing books vertically as well as horizontally {horizontal books can also act as bookends}. I love how designer, Molly Luetkmeyer of M. Design Interiors arranged the books and accessories in the built-in bookshelf above.
Make it Pretty
Adding objects such as shapely ceramics, decorative boxes, small sculptures, family photos and original artwork makes your bookcase more visually interesting and personal. When selecting objects, be aware of the scale and color. Objects shouldn’t blend in or get lost on the shelves. Here is an example of beautiful bookcases flanking a fireplace from Elle Decor  {May 2008} that showcase more decorative objects than books.  It makes me think that “Bookless” bookshelves may  show up more often as people go high tech and move to the Kindle or iPad to read books. What do you think? Do you like the look? 
Tips for Styling a Bookshelf
*images courtesy of Splendid Willow, Carrier and Company Interiors, Samantha Pynn Inc., M. Design Interiors, Good Bones, Great Pieces
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Read full story By on May 24, 2010 in bookshelves, Design Tips, home accessories, interior design

Design Tips For Styling a Living Room

Recently, Canadian House & Home published a great blog article, Styling a Room by Michael Penney. I completely agree with Penney; It’s the layers that make a room and pull it all together visually. In the before photo above, the living room has some nice design elements, but is unbalanced, uninviting and lacks a focal point.

The after photo below (via Country Living), shows what a little styling can do. As Penney points out, a few design elements haven’t change including the sofa, wing chair and wall color. Here are some principles and elements of design that come to play in this redesign:

Define the Space
The most obvious addition in the room is the striped area rug. In addition to anchoring the furnishings and defining the space, it also brings needed texture to the space. When purchasing a rug, it is important to find one that is large enough so that all your furniture fits (it’s okay if the back half of a chair or sofa are not on the rug, but the front half should).

Establish a Focal Point
New drapes, parallel furniture arrangement and artwork in a vertical pattern emphasizes the room’s architectural window and creates a needed focal point in the room. However, I would have added the same drapes to the adjacent window for a more balanced look. This leads me to my next tip;

Create Balance Through Scale and Proportion
The original room also had too much visual weight or mass. In the styled room, one wing chair is replaced with a lighter Windsor chair. Mixing materials can also help balance a room. In this case a metal coffee table takes the place of a wooden one (too many wood elements in the before room). Equilibrium is also achieved by the parallel furniture grouping.

Build Color Harmony
Pulling from the room’s wall color, solid yellow and green throw pillows are added to the sofa creating a more harmonious color palette. However, I would recommend at least one textile print for a pillow, window treatment or chair that pulls all of the primary colors in room’s palette together. Galbraith & Paul’s Donuts pattern in warm would be a good choice for this living room.

What elements of design helped you pull together a space?

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Read full story By on February 24, 2010 in color, Design Tips, interior design, Interiors, Living Room, living rooms, Tips/Tricks